Man in Santa suit arrested outside Capitol

A man in a Santa Claus suit made the Texas Department of Public Safety’s naughty list Friday when police arrested him outside the Capitol.

James Peterson has been charged with criminal mischief after writing with chalk on Capitol grounds, DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said. Peterson has also been charged with evading arrest, Vinger said.

The incident, which started on the South Steps of the Capitol, drew a crowd as Peterson — decked in Santa’s red outfit and white hair and beard — was carried past the Capitol Christmas tree and put into the back of a police car on 11th Street around 1:30 Friday afternoon.

Vinger said a Texas State Preservation Board employee asked Peterson to stop defacing Capitol grounds, and he refused. Another suspect was arrested for criminal mischief as well, Vinger said.